Bond composer John Barry passes away

London, Jan 31 (Agencies): John Barry, who is best known for composing music for 11 James Bond films, has died of a heart attack. He was 77.

The British composer, who created the signature music for the James Bond series including 'From Russia with Love', 'Goldfinger' and 'You Only Live Twice', passed away on Monday morning in New York.

The social networking site Twitter was the first to break the news, where his fellow composer David Arnold wrote, "It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that John Barry passed away this morning. I am profoundly saddened by the news but profoundly thankful for everything he did for music and for me personally."

Barry was also responsible for the formation of the 'James Bond Theme'.

His was honoured with five Oscars, while he received a Bafta fellowship in 2005. He also received an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1999 for his services to music.

Barry's association with the Bond films started with 'Dr No' in 1960 and continued until 1987's 'The Living Daylights'. His other compositions included hits like 'Born Free', 'The Lion in Winter', 'Out of Africa', 'Dances With Wolves', 'The Ipcress File', 'Body Heat' and 'The Cotton Club'. His most recent score was for 'Enigma' in 2001.